International Women’s Day is an opportunity to reflect on the unique circumstances of women and to celebrate women’s achievements.

International Women’s Day is very important for women with disabilities. Far too often, society fails to acknowledge that we are women, seeing only our disabilities. For years, organisations of women with disabilities such as Women With Disabilities WA Inc and our national counterpart, Women With Disabilities Australia have been working to raise awareness of the issues that women with disabilities face.

One of the important things for women with disabilities is to have a chance to be seen for who we are as individuals and have our abilities and achievements acknowledged.

WWDWA Inc’s current Chairperson, Kerrie Duff, was recently featured on the Confident Women website, showcasing many of her achievements over the years.

Women With Disabilities WA Inc was entered into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame along with over 80 other West Australian women’s organisations at a ceremony at Government House this week. WA Women’s Hall of Fame

We could not have achieved this without the support of many people, most importantly our members, all of you are important to the organisation and have helped make it what it is today.

We’d love to hear about your own personal achievements, big or small. Please leave a comment telling us what you are most proud of in your life.

”The worst thing about being an inspiration is that you have to be perfect. I am a normal person with only normal courage. Some people who should know better have tried to give me a halo.” – Anne McDonald, woman with disability, author and activist

Applications are now open for the last intake of the Leaders for Tomorrow Program.

Leaders for Tomorrow is an individual leadership development program which has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs to develop the leadership capacity of people with disability.

The program is targeted at people who aspire to be leaders or further develop their current leadership capacity. At the end of the program it is expected that participants will be more skilled, more confident and more active in leadership roles in business, community, government or their chosen area of interest.

Participants will have up to 12 months access to training, coaching, mentoring and other leadership development opportunities based on their individual needs.

People with a broad range of skill levels and leadership interests are encouraged to apply. The program is committed to including a variety of participants reflecting the diversity of the Australian community.

The Leaders for Tomorrow program is delivered nationally by NSW Consumer Support and Training Project (Hunter TAFE) and E-QUAL (Enhancing Quality).

This one gives lots of ideas on how to adapt your environment and work around physical issues to make sure your child gets what they need to be healthy and safe. If there is one thing living with a disability teaches you it is how to be creative.

What are some creative ways you have come up with to meet parenting challenges? Share them here, and give other mothers with disabilities ideas.

The Senate Inquiry into sterilisation is a critical inquiry for all people with disabilities. It is so important that the voices of people with disabilities are heard in this Inquiry – in whatever way works for the individual and/or organisation concerned. The Terms of reference are very broad and are not just about surgical sterilisation. Among other things, the Inquiry will look into the choices people with disabilities have about:

• contraception
• whether or not to have a baby

It will also look at things like:
• What sort of information people with disabilities have access to about sexuality, relationships, their bodies;
• Whether doctors and other professionals need more training about the rights of people with disabilities to make their own decisions;
• How people with disabilities are treated differently when it comes to their reproductive rights;
• What sort of assistance people with disabilities might need to be able to manage their own reproductive health care;

It is really important that people with disabilities tell the Senate Inquiry their views on some of these issues. It doesn’t have to be a lengthy document or a formal submission. You can just send an email if you want. Or you can ring them up, or ask them to ring you up. Or you can tell WWDA what you think and we can tell the Inquiry on your behalf.

WWDA is helping the Senate Inquiry to speak directly to some groups of people with disabilities. Today some of the Senate Committee members have gone to Brisbane to meet with a group of women with disabilities to hear the women’s views. They are also going to Adelaide soon to meet with another group of women with disabilities. People With Disability Australia (PWD) are also helping to organise a meeting in Sydney. The Senate Committee members have agreed to go out and talk directly to groups of people with disabilities so that our voices and views are heard.

WWDA would strongly encourage everyone to contribute to the Inquiry in some way. The Committee has developed a Plain English version of the Terms of Reference which is available on WWDA’s website at: http://www.wwda.org.au/senateinquiry2012.htm

If you would like to share your ideas, views, thoughts, experiences etc with the Inquiry, you can do so in the following ways: